Friday, June 12, 2009

Today we honor John Pemberton (1831-1888), pharmacist and inventor of the world-famous beverage Coca-Cola.

Pemberton first concocted "coca-wine" in 1884 to serve as a remedy for nervousness and headaches. While his recipe proved to be a success - most druggist in Georgia sold Pemberton's wine - the product recipe would soon change to become the first version of the cola that we know today.

In 1886, Georgia enacted a prohibition law that prompted Pemberton to remove the alcohol from his recipe and, instead, add sugar and carbonated water. Thus, Coca-Cola was born (also known as Coke).

Named for one of its main ingredients - coca leaves - the "original" Coca-Cola recipe was claimed to serve as a cure for morphine and cocaine addiction and was sold as a patent medicine.

The rights to Coca-Cola were sold to Asa Candler in 1887, who would create the Coca-Cola Corporation one year later. Pemberton died the same year.

Candler would later change the name to the Coca-Cola Company before embarking on an aggressive marketing campaign. For the first quarter-century of the company, Coca-Cola would grow in popularity exclusively in the U.S. In 1924 the company began marketing its product abroad. And the rest is history.

The Coca-Cola Company still resides today in Atlanta, Georgia and continues to maintain the leading role in the soda industry.